Golf . French Open. 5 points Soren Hansen to beat Angel Cabrera @ 1.88 with Unibet. (tie no bet) lost 5points Ladbrokes have matched up a big name against a form player and the form player has to be backed. Hansen is in great form (last 4 11/61/2/2) and plays this course very well (15/mc/10/3). A reasonable case could be made for him outright but the fact is that he finds winning difficult, but he should be able to put in high finish. Cabrera, when playing well, is the better player but his game is nowhere near its best (last 4 37/29/mc/26). His problem appears to be on the greens. In 2004 he was ranked 1st for putting average on the European tour with 28.36 putts per round but so far this year he has been putting like a club player, with an average of 32 putts per round. Ironically his GIR stats are much improved, so when he sorts out his putting he will be a player to watch out for, but until then he can be opposed. His course form is a bit old (last played here in 2000) but 45/mc/mc/mc explains why he has given it a miss for so long. 5 points Anthony Wall to beat Lee Westwood @ 10/11 with SportingOdds. lost 5 points Lee Westwood, European No.1 in 2000 lost his game a few years ago, was written off, but managed to claw his way back into the picture again. Until this year. It seems Westwood has lost the plot once again. His European ranking currently stands at 109th and dropping fast. Up until the Masters he was going quite well with two top 5 finishes in America, but he missed the cut at Augusta and has gone on to miss the next 6, and he has not broken 70 since March. He has been playing in better quality events than Wall, but in the two events both played in Europe, Wall has beaten Westwood with ease. Wall’s current form is solid with 7 consecutive cuts made and 3 top 10’s. West wood has the better course form, but has not played here since 1997. He will not have had much chance of practice as he has been hanging around the clubhouse at Congressional in America on Monday and Tuesday, waiting for the rain to stop and allow the Open qualifier to be played. Luckily for him, the rain never stopped, there was no play and he actually qualified based on his World Ranking. Hopefully that will be the end of his luck this week. 6 points Jean Van de Velde to beat Jean-Francois Remesy @ 8/11 with VCBet. won 4.36 points It is hard to find someone whose game has deteriorated more than Lee Westwood, but Remesy is that man! He is on a run of no less than 10 consecutive missed cuts and despite him winning this event for the last 2 years, he has to be opposed. If he wins this it will be the biggest come back since Lazarus. His average score per round is currently 75, more than 3 shots per round worse than Van de Velde, who has recovered from various knee operations in recent years to win the Maderia Open earlier this year. He has made 9 cuts in his 11 events and really should have won this last year but for bottling the last hole and making a hash of the play off with Remesy. 1 point e/w Jose Maria Olazabal outright @ 18/1 with Boylesports, Skybet, Coral. lost 2 points This is step down in class for Olazabal who has been playing very well in the States this season and he has the advantage of a week off after the US Open to recharge his batteries. He plays most of his golf in America these days but when he returns to Europe he generally plays well (last 10 European Tour events 22/8/25/3/mc/2/12/1/3/14) and he will want to make sure he makes the Ryder Cup team with a run of good results in the next few weeks. He plays the course very well (last 4 6/12/14/8) and so long as his putting is better than at winged foot, he must have a good chance. Buick Championship. 0.5 points e/w Dudley Hart outright @ 125/1 with Skybet, Bet365. lost 1 point It looks like Hart has largely recovered from his back problems which have plagued his career for the last few years. This season he has played 14 events without withdrawing from any, and he has two top 10’s in his last 4 events. His strengths are accuracy into the greens and his short game, which is very important on this short but tricky course when keeping the ball on the greens is tricky and good scrambling and putting are crucial. He was 3rd here back in 2001 and in this weak field where outsiders have a good record, he could pop up at a big price. |
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